Bringing On The Heartbreak
by smilePiNAYstyle
Summary: [Chaylor] Chad and Taylor separated in college and now six years later they find themselves still thinking about one another. Bad summary, just read it.
1. Prologue

My first High School Musical fanfic so just bear with me. I'm always up for ideas and constructive criticism, so feel free. But just realize the difference between constructive criticism and a flame before you decide to review.  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the HSM characters.  
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Chad was on his way over to Troy and Gabriella's apartment. He was returning from a long day of work at a company his father owned. Although he liked working with his father and having a top position, nothing compared to what he felt while playing basketball.

His reasons for not playing were personal and whenever someone would bring it up, he would just change the subject. But everyone knew that it had something to do with Taylor. Ever since he had called their relationship off, neither of them had been the same.

He entered his friends' apartment and was greeted with smiles.

"What's up, man," Troy smiled walking over to his best friend. He gave him a high five before returning to his place on the couch next to Gabriella. Unlike Chad, Troy still continued his basketball career and couldn't picture himself doing anything else.

"I'm good," Chad nodded with a small smile. He gave a small nod to Gabriella.

"Hey Chad," Gabriella said before getting up and hugging him. Gabriella was a hard working chemist. It always amazed everyone that with their busy schedules, Gabriella and Troy still managed to stay together.

"What're you two up to," he asked looking around and finding a chair to sit on. He saw them both looking at a magazine and he already knew the answer to his own question. "Wedding plans, huh? Excited?"

Gabriella chuckled, "Yeah, I can't wait."

"You can make it right," Troy asked his best man.

Chad smiled, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Gabriella spoke up, "I hope everyone could make it. We invited the whole crew." Troy had proposed to her during their anniversary and Gabriella just couldn't resist. After all, how could she turn him down?

Troy nodded, "It'll be like a mini high school reunion." Although the whole high school crew still kept in touch, they were all busy with their jobs and families to hang out as much as they did before. Not to mention, they usually tried to make plans that didn't have to do with Chad and Taylor interacting otherwise, things would get ugly.

Chad looked a little uneasy and after a couple moments of awkward silence, he finally spoke up. "Did you… Is Taylor coming?"

Troy and Gabriella looked at each other for a minute before the two turned to face him again.

"Y-yeah," Gabriella answered. "Is this going to be weird for the two of you?" Who was she kidding? She still kept in touch with Taylor and knew that getting over Chad was the second hardest thing she has ever had to do.

"No," Chad laughed, putting on a fake smile. Although he denied it, they all knew he was lying. "We're all friends, right? So Taylor and I knew this would be coming, the day we'd see each other again. It's not going to be weird, guys. It'll be cool." While he was trying to avoid the day that they would meet up again, he was excited at the same time. She was his first true love and he couldn't put these feelings away, no matter how hard he tried.

Troy nodded slowly, _why couldn't Chad just be straight up with them?_

**HSMHSMHSMHSM **

When Chad entered his own apartment, he couldn't help but think of Taylor again. It's been such a long time since they had last seen each other, six years to be exact. Six years since their freshman year in college. They both decided that they were going to try their best to stay together throughout the four years of college.

That idea was put down during winter break when Chad had decided to finally end it between them. He remembered the conversation so clearly. There was crying involved, not to mention blows to the head.

"_So you just want to end it," She asked after he had broken up with her. Taylor slowly looked up, not wanting to know what he was going to say or do because she knew what the answer was. She shut her eyes, trying to prevent the tears from flowing but she couldn't and she felt the wetness on her face._

"_Tay, I'm sorry," he said softly. _

_She shook her head. "W-why? Why would you want to break up? We were doing so well! I thought we… I thought **you **were happy!"_

_At first he had forgotten why he was doing this, why he was causing her so much pain. But then he remembered. All their letters, late night conversations and visits were getting in the way of their schoolwork and their lives. Trying to make them work had grown to be a chore and he knew she felt the same way. _

"_Taylor," he sighed, "We've been trying so hard to make us work and…and its just not working out. I mean, everytime I call you it takes time away from your studies-"_

_He was interrupted by her, "Chad, I'm doing fine in school, alright?" She was lying, she was so behind and confused about what she was learning in school from all the time she spent talking to Chad._

"_You have a lot going for you, and I'm keeping you from it. I'm just doing what's best for us, Taylor. Maybe one day when we're out of college we can take off from where we left off but not right now… Right now, I-I just think it would be best if we just stayed friends…"_

"_But-"_

"_NO," he shook his head. As hard as it was for her to understand, he was trying hard not to just hold her again and take back everything he had said. _

"_Chad we can make this work," She cried harder._

"_No we can't," he whispered. "I can't… Taylor I'm only doing this because I care about you!"_

"_You care about me," she exclaimed sarcastically. "Really? Cause you have a twisted way in showing up. No, you don't care about me! B-Because if you care about me… you wouldn't be doing this to me. If you care about me, you would try to make it work and not bail out when things get just a little bit hard. Maybe you never cared at all."_

"_You know that's not true," he said, trying to hold her but she snapped her arm back and slapped him. _

"_Don't ever speak to me again," she said sternly. "Ever." With that last word, she left his house._

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A/N – reviews would be nice, so would ideas. )

Next chapter – Taylor centric; her thoughts on things.


	2. Sitting Looking Pretty

**A/N – **Thank you so much for all the reviews, I really appreciated them!  
**Disclaimer **– I do not own any of the HSM characters.

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It was four in the afternoon and Taylor had just returned home from a disappointing doctor's appointment. She took her Beagle puppy, Sammy, for a walk to blow off some of her steam. Now, she was entering her apartment with a handful of mail in one hand and a leash in the other.

Taylor took off Sammy's leash so that he was able to walk around freely while she went through the stack of mail in her hands. "Junk, bill, bill, junk, bill…" She let out a frustrated sigh and let the envelopes fall to the counter without bothering to open any of them.

She walked to her kitchen trying to find something to eat. In opening the fridge, she felt dizzy and waited awhile before taking out an instant TV meal. As soon as she closed the refrigerator door, she saw a memo pad that just added to her frustration.

On the memo pad, she was reminded of Troy and Gabriella's engagement party. "Great… I have to face _him _again." Memories of that awful day about six years ago came rushing back to her and she shook them off. _No, he dumped you and you are not wasting your tears on him._ While she told herself this whenever she thought about Chad, she couldn't help but still wonder about what could have happened.

Taylor felt a tugging at the flares of her pants. As she looked down, she smiled seeing Sammy. Sammy was a gift from Gabriella while Taylor was going through yet another tough time coping. She was told to consider it an early birthday present and Taylor couldn't say no once she looked into the puppy's eyes. "Oh Sammy, what's wrong? You want water, huh?" Her smiled widened when she saw the puppy yawn.

Before she heated up her 'dinner', she went into her bedroom to change into pajamas. She took off her shoes and looked for the shoebox to place them in. Thinking that it was the baby blue box on the bottom of her closet, Taylor opened it to find her wrong. Inside were pictures, letters, and anything that reminded her of Chad. Letting her shoes drop to the floor, she looked through the box. So many times she tried to get herself to throw it away, but she could never do it. No matter how bad he hurt her.

She shut her eyes, trying to stop the tears from flowing. "What did I do to deserve all of this?" She would ask herself this question time and time again. Still to this day, she would still wonder about Chad and his reasons for breaking up with her. Looking down into the shoebox, she saw a picture of the two of them on their one year anniversary. They looked so happy, but according to him, they weren't.

Taylor closed the box not wanting to think about him right now especially after her horrible morning. Then, she remembered about the food she had planned on eating and decided that she wasn't hungry anymore.

**HSMHSMHSMHSM**

"So how are you feeling," Gabriella asked Taylor. The two decided to have a girls' day out to splurge on clothes.

"Okay," Taylor sighed. "Gabi, I don't really feel like talking about this right now…" She pretended to seem interested in a dress before placing it back on the rack.

Gabriella nodded, "I'm sorry."

"So… you and Troy excited about the big day," Taylor asked, changing the subject.

"Oh yeah," Gabriella smiled. "You better cancel anything you have prepared that day or I _will _be pissed to say the least." The wedding was in December in a chapel next to the ski lodge where they first met.

"If I make it until then," Taylor mumbled sadly, picking out two more shirts to purchase.

"Huh," Gabriella asked, looking at Taylor's direction. "Did you say something?"

"N-nothing," Taylor replied quickly. "It's nothing."

**HSMHSMHSMHSM**

Gabriella entered her apartment to see Troy, Jason, and Kelsie having conversations on the dining room table. She placed her shopping bags down and went over to greet her friends. Kelsie worked at East High, she was continuing to compose the high school's winter and spring musicals. As a part time job, she gave kids piano lessons. Jason played basketball alongside Troy.

"Hey," Gabriella smiled, walking around the table to kiss everyone lightly on the cheek.

Before she sat down herself, Troy held onto her arm a little longer, "That's all I get?" He made a pouty face and she couldn't help herself. She leaned down once again to kiss him softly on the lips.

"You two have got to be the corniest couple ever," Jason teased and received a light hit to the arm from Kelsie.

"How'd shopping with Taylor go," Troy asked as soon as Gabriella took a seat. "How is she?"

"Last time I spoke to her she was in pretty rough shape," Kelsie replied sadly. "I guess it's hard to deal with so many things all at once."

Gabriella nodded, "She's been doing the whole radiation thing for the past couple of months. But then she told me that a couple of days when she had a doctor's appointment, they told her that the leukemia had progressed."

Troy could tell that Gabriella was having a hard time saying this all being that Taylor was on of her closest friends. He reached his hand across the table to place it on top of hers and rubbing it.

Gabriella continued, "She been so down and moody lately, you know? I want to help her but she keeps pushing everyone away."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Kelsie said, "But, I think it had to do with Michael leaving her as soon as she broke the news to him. What a jerk!"

Troy and Jason nodded their heads in agreement.

"I think the only person who can make her happy is Chad," Jason suggested.

Gabriella, Kelsie, and Troy looked at each other thinking the same thing. '_Maybe he's right_.'

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**A/N** – sorry for the long wait! My computer broke down recently and I couldn't post a new chapter up. Already, I'm experiencing writer's block, so if you want more chapters please tell me some of your ideas. ) 


	3. A Broken Rose and Laughing Eyes

**Disclaimer – I do not own any of the HSM characters.**

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Chapter 3 – The Dinner**

Troy and Gabriella were setting up the table while Jason, Kelsie, Sharpay, Ryan, and Taylor were watching television. Zeke on the other hand, was cooking the dinner they were going to eat. They were waiting for Chad to come over straight from work.

"How do you think they're going to act when they see each other," Troy asked Gabriella. He kept his voice soft; he didn't want Taylor to overhear their conversation. Chad was his best friend, and Troy knew that he wasn't going to be thrilled with the idea of being set up. Then again, Chad didn't know of Taylor's condition…yet.

Gabriella replied with a shrug. "Taylor is going to pretend that she doesn't want to see him. It's pretty obvious that she misses him though." She was moving around the table, making sure the silverware and plates were all aligned. It was just one of her habits to make sure everything was close to perfect.

Troy just smiled at the sight of her moving everything just a little bit and making sure things were perfect. "Chad is going to be the same way. I just hope that they end up talking to each other by the end of the night. It's either that or they'll end up hating each other more."

"I hope this all works out," Gabriella said. "Ah, I'm so nervous for the both of them." Troy wrapped his arm around her waist and bent down to kiss her forehead. Gabriella responded by bringing her hands up to Troy's face and deepening the kiss, they both forgot about setting up the table.

"Look at these two," Sharpay laughed. She and Taylor entered the dining room. "Do you two need any help?"

Gabriella pulled away from Troy, "Uh, I don't think so. But, I should check on Zeke to make sure he knows where everything is."

"Don't worry about it," Sharpay said, "I'll check on him." She left the three to enter the kitchen and check on her boyfriend.

Gabriella and Troy continued fixing the table settings when the doorbell rang. The couple quickly looked at each other before looking at Taylor who got the hint.

"I got it," Taylor said, she noticed that the two were busy and she was closest to the door anyway. As she neared the door, Gabriella followed close behind. Once Taylor opened the door, she nearly fainted, "Hi C-Chad."

"Taylor," he asked. "How are-" He stopped when Taylor quickly turned around and made her way to the others watching television. "…you?"

"Hi Chad," Gabriella smiled weakly. She was upset knowing that they were both being hard headed about the whole situation.

"Sorry," he said, closing the door behind him. "This is going to be one awkward dinner huh?"

Gabriella giggled and led him to the others. "C'mon."

While Chad was busy with the two boys and Sharpay in the kitchen, Gabriella went to check on Taylor who was sitting on a window seat. "Hey Taylor are you going to be okay with this all?"

"What do you think," Taylor asked.

"Taylor I know you two split up," Gabriella began, "But you knew that there was going to be a day when you'd see him again. Can't you just try to put the past behind you for _one _night, for me?"

Taylor let out an exasperated sigh. "I'll try." Gabriella smiled and got up, about to go back to Troy. "Gabi?"

"Hmm," Gabriella asked, turning back around to face her friend.

"Can you not mention the whole leukemia thing to Chad," Taylor asked. "I-It'd just make the whole thing even weirder."

"I wouldn't do that Taylor," Gabriella assured her best friend before leaving Taylor time to clear her head.

Taylor hated the fact that her sickness had taken away so much from her. She was too helpless and too weak to care for herself. Every now and then it'd come to the point that she would need Gabriella or Troy to help her around her own apartment.

Her head snapped back up when she heard laughter from the kitchen. Instead of smiling she went back to thinking – thinking if she'd be able to laugh like that again.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSM****HSMHSMHSMHSMHSM****HSMHSMHSMHSMHSM****HSMHSMHSMHSMHSM****HSMHSMH**

The dinner was indeed inept for everyone. They all had to make sure Taylor and Chad were kept at proper distance from each other. Conversations about health, college, and relationships were avoided which added to an even more awkward silence.

"Zeke, that was delicious," Ryan exclaimed, wiping his mouth with his napkin. Everyone else nodded their heads in agreement.

"Yeah, thank you so much," Troy told his friend.

Zeke smiled and shrugged, "I should be thanking _you_. If it weren't for you and Gabriella doing the callbacks in high school, I wouldn't be able to do this for a living."

"High school was fun," Jason said, looking back on memories that occurred during those four great years, "especially being on the basketball team."

"The basketball team," Sharpay asked, disgustedly. "The drama club members made school fun."

"Yeah," Ryan agreed.

"You two were the only members," Chad smiled, Kelsie coughed, "Yeah you two and Kelsie. And you almost ruined Troy and Gabi's chances of being in Twinkle Town."

"The drama club was still so much better than the basketball team," Sharpay whined. She wanted to win this argument, and she was determined to.

"How," Zeke asked. "I'm sorry baby but no one really watched those musicals…"

"The auditions were pretty funny to watch though," Troy laughed. "Remember how harsh Ms. Darbus was? 'Go see a guidance counselor!'"

The argument of the basketball team versus the drama club kept going on until Gabriella attempted to put a stop to it.

"GUYS," Gabriella spoke up. "I know how to settle this."

"By saying that the basketball team was better," Zeke asked.

"No," Gabriella shook her head. "Both teams were okay… but the Chemistry club was the best."

Everyone was silent for a minute before exclaiming, "Oh please!"

"Hey, it was worth a shot," Gabriella turned to Taylor and smiled. While everyone else was talking about something else Gabriella asked Taylor quietly, "You ok? You've been pretty quiet since we sat down to eat…"

"Uh yeah," Taylor lied. "I was just thinking about stuff."

"What kind of stuff," Gabriella asked.

"Just stuff," Taylor replied. She didn't want to continue with the conversation. She knew, from the moment she opened the door to Chad, what Troy and Gabriella were trying to do. To get away, she excused herself for a water break.

Chad and Troy watched her leave. Troy nodded his head and gave Chad a signal to follow her, which he did.

Taylor was too busy pouring herself a glass of water to notice Chad in the kitchen doorway.

"Taylor," he asked, walking into the kitchen and moving closer to her.

This action took her by surprise and it caused her to drop the glass of water, leaving shattered glass on the floor and a soaked Chad. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" _Why should I care if I spilled water on him? He obviously didn't care when he broke my heart._

"No, its okay I shouldn't have scared you like that," he quickly added. At the same time they knelt on the floor to pick up the remains of the cup.

"Ow," she yelped, cutting herself with one of the pieces.

"Let me see it," he offered, taking her hand in his. She refused and quickly pulled away. Instead, she turned on the water faucet and washed the cut. "Taylor can we just have one normal, mature conversation?"

"No," she answered.

"Why not?"

"Because! Chad do you expect us to have the same relationship that we had before when so much happened! You broke up with me expecting us to be friends. What kind of friendship did we have? Oh right, one where you didn't write, call, or speak to each other at all for six years."

"Well then why weren't _you _the one to try to keep in touch then?"

"I was busy," she simply said.

"You were busy everyday for six years," he asked. "Come on Taylor, give me a better excuse then that."

"I don't want to deal with you right now," Taylor said, walking back to the table of friends.

"Nice going Danforth," Chad sighed.

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**A/N** – Reviews and ideas are greatly appreciated!


	4. You're Such A Mystery

**Author's Note**: Sorry I haven't updated! I've been busy with school and everything. Now that its summer vacation, the chapters will be coming in every week or so! So, keep reviewing!

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"I can't our plan backfired," Troy sighed. He was on his side of the bed, pulling the covers off and getting in. Everyone had left their apartment and now he and Gabriella were getting ready to go to bed. Neither of them was happy about the outcome of the night. If anything, the tension between Chad and Taylor only grew.

"We have to do something, Troy," Gabriella said, moving onto the bed to face him. She looked down, sadly, "I can't bear to see Taylor like this… I know that deep down she wants more than anything to be with him."

"Then why can't she just give in," Troy asked. He then rolled his eyes, '_Why do women have to be so complicated?_'

"I don't know," Gabriella shrugged. "I'll check up on her tomorrow. You know, just to see she needs anything."

"Gabi, she's fine," Troy said. "She has to learn that she can't keep doing this. She needs to enjoy life and not stay in her apartment all day brooding."

Gabriella nodded, "I know…"

Ever since Taylor was diagnosed with leukemia, she would shut herself her friends, family, everyone. Gabriella would take it upon herself to make trips to Taylor's house at least once a week to make sure she was okay.

Troy, however, felt Gabriella was babying her and the couple would often argue over this. Troy's argument was always that Taylor was smart, she wouldn't do anything to hurt herself no matter how low she was feeling. Since Gabriella would always check up on her, it took away from time she would be spending with Troy.

Troy could see a look of worry coming onto his girlfriend's face. He placed his arm over her shoulders and rubbed them, "What's wrong?"

Gabriella brought her hand to her forehead, "We need someone to watch over Taylor next week. I completely forgot that we had a meeting to book the wedding at the ski lodge." Normally, Troy and Gabriella would take Taylor with them but they were already running a tight budget for the wedding.

Something came over Troy, "I know the perfect person for the job."

"Troy you can't be serious," Gabriella said, she gave him a stern look. "Taylor would do everything in her power to find someone else to watch her. She couldn't even bear seeing him for dinner, what makes you think she'd want to spend a week with him."

"Gabi, you said it yourself! You said that deep down inside, she wants to be with Chad more than anything. Yes, she'll put up a fight at first but she's going to give in because she still has feelings for him."

Gabriella could only nod. She thought about what he had just said and realized that he was right. The only hard part would be breaking the news to Taylor. Gabriella turned to her boyfriend, "This isn't going to be easy… She's going to throw a fit."

Troy took her hand in his, "Gabi, you can't keep having her play things safe. I'll go over with you if you'd like." Gabriella agreed. Troy smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

"I love you," Gabriella whispered softly.

"I love you too, Gabriella."

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The next morning, Gabriella and Troy were on their way to Taylor's apartment. Troy had just called Chad to see if he was doing anything that week. At first, he was hesitant; he knew Taylor would go crazy. But, after a lot of persuading on Troy's part, he agreed. 

Before they left, they made phone calls to all their friends to check up on Taylor and Chad every so often. Just in case they end up strangling each other. As much as Gabriella would have preferred Kelsie or Sharpay to watch over Taylor, she knew that both Taylor and Chad needed this. She didn't want to have another dinner disaster just because the two couldn't handle the situation as adults.

Now the couple was making their way up to Taylor's floor.

"Gabriella -- breathe," Troy teased, seeing how nervous she seemed.

They both turned quickly when Taylor opened the door of her apartment. "Hey guys, come in." She pushed the door open a little more so that the two could enter. She made her way over to the living room, motioning for them to follow her lead. "Have a seat."

"No, that's ok," Gabriella smiled.

"What's wrong," Taylor asked. She was friends with Gabriella and Troy long enough to realize that something was up. Taylor was able to see right through their faces.

When Gabriella couldn't speak, Troy took over. "You see…" As soon as he locked eyes with Taylor, he couldn't bring himself to break the news. "G-Gabi here has something to tell you."

"Is this about yesterday night," Taylor asked. "I'm sorry if I ruined your evening…"

"NO," Gabriella exclaimed, "We're just here to tell you that Troy and I need to fly over to Chicago to book the chapel for the wedding… So, I'm not going to be here for our weekly get together. OK, I want you to keep in mind that we're only going to be gone for a week and that everyone else in the gang is busy so-"

Taylor interrupted, "Gabi - you're rambling, which means you're nervous. Just cut to the chase."

"Ok," Gabriella said before taking a deep breath. "I'm not going to be here next week to watch over you… So, Troy and I have decided to let someone stay here with you. You know, just to make sure you're doing all right."

"Like… a stranger," Taylor asked, nervously. She looked up at them like they were crazy, leaving her home with someone who might be insane. "Why can't it be someone from our gang?"

Troy decided to answer her on this one, seeing that Gabriella was nervous as it was. "My point exactly, you mean someone we all know and trust, right?" Taylor nodded, slowly, "Someone like Chad?"

Taylor's eyes grew bigger as she stood up, "No! I am _not _spending my week being watched over by him!"

Troy continued, "Taylor you just said that you wanted someone from our group of friends. Chad is one of our friends, and besides, everyone else is busy."

"I changed my mind, I'll be watched over by a stranger… anybody! As long as the person's name isn't Chad, I'm good! Gabriella, can you knock some sense into your boyfriend!"

"Taylor, y-you don't have a choice…" Gabriella stuttered. She couldn't bear to do this, she hated hurting her friends. But deep down, she knew it was for the best.

"What," Troy and Taylor asked at once. Troy was surprised mainly because he didn't expect Gabriella to be so straightforward about things. Taylor on the other hand couldn't believe that her friend wasn't helping her at all.

"I'm hiring someone," Taylor spoke up after moments of silence. She pushed her way through the couple and made it to the phone.

Before she got a chance to dial, Gabriella followed her, "Taylor, what if the person you hire turns out to be a maniac. What if that person robs you or something worse? We just got off the phone with Chad and he's getting ready as we speak… He'll be here tomorrow night."

Taylor slammed the phone down. "Whatever," she mumbled before stomping her way into her bedroom and slamming the door behind her.

Troy and Gabriella exchanged worried glances.


	5. Always Running Wild

**Disclaimer**: (sorry for not putting it on the last couple of chapters) I do not own or am affiliated with any of the HSM cast and crew.

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Chad walked to the door of Taylor's apartment the next night feeling scared. He knew that with agreeing to do this, Taylor and he would have to relive painful memories. Hesitating at first, he knocked on the door. From the inside, he could he footsteps coming closer. 

"Hi Chad," she said through a forced smile. Taylor eyed him from head to toe, feeling the same attraction coming over her from back in their high school days. She shook those feelings away, _he's probably dating someone else by now…_

"Hey Taylor," He replied back. He too was taken back by Taylor's beauty, the way she didn't need tons of make up because she was naturally gorgeous. She was wearing dark denim jeans with a dark green dressy tank top. Her hair was styled in curls, just the way he liked it.

Chad was distracted from his thoughts when he felt something tugging at the bottom of his pants. Looking down, he smiled to see a Sammy wagging his tail happily at his presence. "You have a dog?"

"No Chad, it's the new carpet," she mumbled sarcastically. Chad then remembered how stubborn she could be sometimes.

Taylor decided that she should stop and apologize, "Sorry… come on in." She stepped back from her doorway as he carried a duffel bag full of a weeks worth of clothing. She let _him_ shut the door behind him.

"Where do you want me to put my stuff?"

"Oh, right, follow me," Taylor led him down the hall and into the guest room which was across the hall from hers.

The walls were full of pictures with the gang, Chad wasn't surprised that she hung up the ones without him in them Between the two bedrooms was a bathroom that they would have to share., "I just changed the sheets and on top of your bed is a stack of clean towels…"

Chad smiled, remembering how neat she could be and how much she hated mess. "Thanks."

"I'll leave you to settle in or whatever," she said before turning around and walking into her own bedroom and shutting the door.

Taylor leaned against her door and sighed, she couldn't do this. She couldn't possibly live with Chad for a week without letting her feelings get the best of her. She couldn't live with him without having something spill.

Millions of questions started racing through her head: what if he sees the signs of her being sick? What if he picks up the phone and it was her doctor? What if she fainted again but this time in front of him?

How could Troy and Gabriella do this to her? How could they leave her alone with Chad, of all people, Chad! What hurt her most was that Gabriella was in this too; her best friend was trying to set her up with someone that she was still trying to get over.

Chad started knocking on Taylor's door, "Tay, you in there?"

"Uh yeah, I'll be out in a second," She called from the other side of the door. A minute later opened it and stood face to face with him. Taylor stepped back and looked down, "S-sorry." Another awkward moment and it was just the beginning of what she knew would be a very long week.

"I was just wondering if you had dinner yet. You know, because if you're hungry we could order in or just go out."

She nodded, "Yeah. I am pretty hungry, ordering in some take-out sounds good." There was no way she would go out to dinner with him; just the thought of going out brought back a lot of memories.

"Do you still like Thai food," he asked. "Pad Thai noodles sound good?"

"Sure," she replied. "Whatever." Taylor made her way onto the living room couches to continue reading a book that she had started on before Chad arrived at her house.

Chad rolled his eyes at her last response. _Whatever?_ He shook it off and made his way to dial up the number of the restaurant so he could order their food. As soon as he finished ordering, he made his way back to the guest room and decided to change into more comfortable clothing. Looking through his duffel bag, he decided on basketball shorts and a wife-beater.

Taylor stood in his doorway, coughing quietly so he would notice she was there. When he finally looked up, she continued, "The food is here. I'd pay but they don't accept credit cards…"

"Oh, okay let me just get my wallet," he said quickly. Once he found it he made his way to her door to pay for the food. He took the food out and set the table for the both of them to eat.

The dinner table was quiet, neither of them had a clue as to what to talk about.

Chad finally spoke up, "This whole week I'm at work from nine to four. I tried to get my father to let me out earlier considering the circumstances but that was all he gave me. Are you going to be okay by yourself?"

She hated the way he was babying her so she rolled her eyes in annoyance. Because it was spring, she didn't have to teach any classes due to the kids being on spring break. "Chad I've been living by myself for quite some time, I think I can manage seven hours without you."

"OK, I'm just saying."

"OK, but you don't have to treat my like an idiot," She retorted.

"Taylor, I wasn't treating you like an idiot. I was just asking a question!"

"Whatever; just drop it."

The rest of the time was spent like this. As soon as she finished eating, she left her plate for him to wash on the table and made her way into the bedroom.

How dare he treat me like a baby and try to cover it up by saying he was asking me a simple question?Taylor kept replaying the whole thing over and over in her head.

One part of her was saying that he just didn't understand that she wasn't the same person anymore. That part of her was mad at Chad and kept saying how he didn't understand her anymore. Another part of Taylor just wanted to tell him everything that happened from the beginning to now.

Chad hated the way they acted towards each other. He laid on his bed wondering what Gabriella and Troy were doing right at the moment.

**HSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSMHSM**

Gabriella and Troy were on the plane ride to Chicago. Gabriella was still feeling guilty about leaving Taylor home with Chad.

Yeah, she's had fights with Taylor before but they had only lasted a couple of minutes before one of them would start apologizing. That morning before they left, Gabriella called Taylor's house to see if she was okay and if she needed anything before they left. As soon as Taylor found out it was her on the phone, she immediately hung up.

Troy looked at her, seeing that she was still beating herself up over this and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her on the forehead. "Gabi, she's okay."

He was tired of seeing Gabriella like this. She had to stop worrying about other people and start worrying about herself. Last night, he saw that Gabriella was too upset to eat or sleep.

"She hates me right now," Gabriella said. "I should just call her and start apologizing." She sighed, "I made my best friend hate me."

"Gabi, she needs this push."

Gabriella nodded and continued to stare out of the plane window. She put her hand in Troy's and he started to rub her hand. "I hope you're right, I really hope you're right about this."

* * *

**Author's Note**: Reviews and ideas are always appreciated! 


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